Watson-Marlow Pumps Group has supplied Qdos 60 metering pumps to Fauchier Company, a France-based specialist in the design and manufacture of automated filtration systems. The pumps are being used as part of a double skid for a winemaking customer of Fauchier – Qdos technology is dosing a wine ingredient known as gum arabic. The pumps were chosen for their high performance characteristics, which combine both high accuracy and low pulsation.

Process overhaul

“Our customer had to revise their entire filtration process with respect to filtration quality, process standardisation and, above all, the provision of a fully automated control system prior to bottling,” explains Mr Fauchier. “In addition, they wanted to use telemetry to operate the system by remote control via the intranet.

The Fauchier Company set about designing a cartridge filtration system fully connected to the factory’s IT system. The advantage of the system is the optimised and controlled arrangement of the start-up phases, while sterilisation and cleaning times are also reduced.

For this particular project, Fauchier sought calibrated peristaltic pumps for dosing gum arabic, a natural gum extracted from specific species of African Acacia trees that is used for ‘rounding out’ tannins in wine to reduce astringency.

Based on a double skid configuration with automatic dosing, the aim was to reduce pulsation and achieve very precise dosage which could be controlled by a flowmeter without a non-return valve in order to perform washes.

Accurate dosing

“We chose Qdos 60 pumps from Watson-Marlow for precisely these reasons,” says Mr Fauchier. “The pumps also have the advantage of not requiring any additional ancillary equipment, while ease-of use, reliability and robust build were other factors in the purchase decision.”

Another major benefit is the unique design of the patented ReNuTM pumphead which maximises process uptime with no-tools maintenance. For the user, this means quick, safe and easy pumphead replacement.

“Importantly for this application, the pumps can be operated by remote control thanks to their analogue function, enabling us to gather information or to change settings remotely,” adds Mr Fauchier. “In fact, Watson-Marlow pumps seem fully adapted to this new era of e-solutions and Industry 4.0.”

The company purports to be extremely pleased with the performance of the Watson-Marlow pumps and is now interested in another Qdos 60 model for a new project requiring greater flow rates. Mr Fauchier is also showing interest in the Watson-Marlow OEM DriveSure pump, because it is a fully integrated panel mount pump.

Willing partner

“We particularly enjoyed working with our contacts at Watson-Marlow who were always willing to help during tests and after the system had been set up at our customer’s site,” he concludes.

The Fauchier Company, located in Saint André De Cubzac near Bordeaux, has over 15 years’ experience in supplying filtration systems. The systems devised by the company often also incorporate a CIP washing process and automated testing and measuring equipment – all connected to a network, website and monitoring system. The use of sensors gives the system a self-diagnostic capability, enabling it to be operated by remote control and better integrated into the production process as a whole.